This International Women’s Day we need to stand up for abortion rights in Europe

You may or may not be aware of the existence of fake abortion clinics.

These are organisations that masquerade as neutral and supportive organisations with people’s best interests at heart, but which really seek to dissuade pregnant people from making a truly free and informed choice about their pregnancies.

If you are aware of them, you may think these are fringe organisations that exist far away – America, maybe – and that your reproductive rights are surely safe. But what if I told you the truth is uglier?

Late last year, the independent consultancy, Shake The Dust launched #HeyGoogle, a campaign that revealed fake abortion clinics are very much alive and well in Europe.

They are abundant and visible on the web, notably on Google Maps, where most people turn first to find and compare care providers.

Not only that, but Google Maps also features misleading and often upsetting fake reviews of legitimate abortion care providers with the aim of diverting people seeking care away. These are often the work of anti-choice activists who want to misinform and confuse the public.

Our campaign includes the first ever interactive open map of fake clinics in Europe, inspired by similar projects started in the US.

We and anonymous volunteers use our mapping guide to find fake clinics and log them on the map so people seeking care know where not to go. Thus far we have logged 164 fake clinics in Europe – but we know there are many more out there.

Anyone can add to the map. Our team reviews every addition before making it go public so that we ensure all our data is accurate.

We want fake abortion providers to be removed or flagged clearly on Google Maps and fake reviews screened and removed promptly by Google.

We also want the general public to be aware of this growing trend so they can protect themselves and take action and we want commitments from leaders in business and government to protect access to abortion and to protect the privacy and safety of European citizens.

The map is one part of our overall campaign. We won’t stop until real action is taken, and real change is made to stand up for abortion rights in Europe.

If you are passionate about reproductive rights, you can visit us at www.shakethedust.co or on our Instagram. Share our campaign with all your friends, colleagues and family and if you have ten minutes, add to the fake clinic map.

Kate Reger is a US-based freelance writer and project assistant, currently working with Shake The Dust on outreach and activism in the sexual and reproductive health and rights field. Her background is in political science and foreign languages.